During housing construction, many electrical boxes are typically mounted on wall studs to accommodate electrical equipment such as outlets and switches. In the last decade, it has become increasingly common for these wall studs to be made of a metal, especially steel. Mounting an electrical box on a metal stud can be difficult and the time required to mount all the electrical boxes called for in a construction project can be substantial.
Prior art electrical boxes have been designed for mounting on wooden studs by means of nails or screws. These boxes are usually provided with external mounting brackets on their tops and bottoms. Generally, the brackets are angled away from the boxes to provide space for the operation of a hammer, screwdriver, or drill. This is particularly important when the electrical box is of the longer multi-gang type. The mounting brackets are also commonly angled toward the front of the box to further facilitate access to them during installation.
While these prior art electrical boxes can be mounted to very light gauge metal studs by means of nails or screws, they cannot be so mounted to heavier gauge metal studs such as load-bearing studs. Heavier gauge metals are not penetrated by ordinary nails and screws. Clamps have been used as an alternative mounting means. Mounting with clamps, however, is cumbersome and slow in comparison to mounting by nails or screws.